MY ACCOUNT
Chelsea entertain Leeds this afternoon, creating the next chapter in a famous football rivalry.
The two clubs shared many classic matches over the years, none more so than the brutal 1970 FA Cup final.
LiveScore takes a trip down memory lane to recall one of the defining encounters of its time.
Route to the final
Chelsea’s path to the final was the easier of the two as they only required one replay, in the fourth round against Burnley.
Birmingham, Crystal Palace, QPR and Watford were all beaten as the Blues booked their Wembley spot.
Leeds’ progress had been similarly serene seeing off Swansea, non-league Sutton, Mansfield and Swindon before being drawn with fierce rivals Manchester United in the semi-final.
The first game at Hillsborough ended 0-0, as did the first replay at Villa Park. Leeds finally progressed with a 1-0 win at Bolton’s Burnden Park in the second replay.
Wembley quagmire
The final took place on a dreadful pitch.
Played in April, so England could prepare for the World Cup in Mexico in 1970, the game was held only a week after the Horse of the Year show, which had badly cut up the playing surface.
Jack Charlton put Leeds ahead after 20 minutes before Peter Houseman levelled proceedings shortly before the break.
It looked like Mick Jones had won it for Don Revie’s Whites with six minutes remaining, only for Ian Hutchinson to draw Chelsea level again barely 120 seconds later.
Extra-time could not separate the two sides and a replay was needed.
Brutal affair
Such was the state of the pitch after the first game, that FA officials decided to move the game to Old Trafford for the replay.
It was the only time between 1920 and 2001 that the final was held away from Wembley Stadium.
And it produced an absolute classic — a game that has been etched in the folklore of English football.
Both sides kicked lumps out of each other from the get-go after a rough first match as referee Eric Jennings booked just one player.
In 1997, Premier League referee David Elleray said six players would have seen red. In 2020, Michael Oliver reckoned it would have been more like 11.
Eddie Gray was on the receiving end of a bad kick to the back of the knee from Chelsea captain Ron Harris, while Norman Hunter and Hutchinson — the only player booked — exchanged punches.
Eddie McCreadie kicked Billy Bremner in the head, Charlton headbutted Peter Osgood and Blues keeper Peter Bonetti was injured by Jones.
The goals
The actual game saw Chelsea win the FA Cup for the first time as they secured a 2-1 win in extra-time.
Jones fired past the limping Bonetti minutes after he injured him in the first half, only for Osgood to find space in the box to level the game late on.
And it was David Webb who notched the winner in the 104th minute. He converted from close range from a long throw into the box.
Aftermath
There was much admiration for both sides after the two hard-fought games, while some in the football world were critical of just how physical it was.
Now more than 50 years since it took place, the 1970 final is one of the most famous in the competition’s history and is still talked about.
There was already bad blood between the two teams and sets of fans prior to the final and it went up a notch afterwards.
Now they will renew acquaintances in the league in front of a full crowd for the first time since May 2004.
